A man who had just married his partner of 13 years found himself fighting for his life ten days later in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. The incident, which occurred during their honeymoon, left the man with severe injuries including crushed intestines and fractured vertebrae. His wife, Anna, played a critical role in his survival by physically attacking the hippo that had pinned him underwater.
The Attack in the Delta
The couple had traveled to Botswana for a canoe excursion focused on local flora. Before departing, guides warned the group about a mother hippo and her two calves nearby. The man spotted the large animal in the distance and attempted to take a photograph. The canoe drifted away from the main group, leaving the couple isolated in the swamp.
Suddenly, the water behind them erupted with splashing and growling. The man turned to see the mother hippo charging with its mouth open. The guide’s expression was one of sheer terror. The hippo struck the canoe with the force of a car collision, knocking the man underwater. He was pinned to the swamp bottom, feeling the animal crush his chest and back. The hippo’s jaws clamped down on his leg before releasing him momentarily.
Anna witnessed her husband trapped in the hippo’s mouth. Believing he was dead, she did not flee. Instead, she charged through the shallow water, screaming and punching the hippo near its face. The animal dropped the man, allowing him to surface.
Emergency Evacuation
The man surfaced with his intestines exposed. He wrapped one arm around his body to hold his organs in place while supporting his wife with the other. They waded to another canoe where horrified tourists assisted. Anna used her belt as a tourniquet for his leg and her headscarf for his arm. She refused to push his intestines back inside, holding them in her hands instead.
Evacuation was delayed by the setting sun. The man spent hours in the swamp, angry at the prospect of dying so soon after his wedding. He was eventually carried back to camp on a stretcher. A retrieved mobile phone allowed Anna to call the man’s mother just before 8 pm. The family and the US embassy mobilized quickly, alerting a hospital in South Africa.
A helicopter arrived the next morning. A doctor noted the man’s lack of pants, but modesty was no longer a priority. The man was flown to Netcare Milpark hospital in South Africa for emergency surgery. He suffered a hole in his back, deep wounds to his thigh and arm, fractured ribs and vertebrae, and damage to several internal organs.
Recovery and Reflection
The man spent 19 days in the hospital before being flown home. He continues to recover physically and has found therapy in pottery. Anna also requires physical therapy for injuries sustained during the attack. Both underwent counseling but do not blame the hippo, recognizing it was protecting its territory. The couple keeps the photograph the man took of the hippo on their wall as a reminder of the event.
Source: The Guardian
